After being tasked with defending 23-year-old receiver Justin Blackmon in his first game back from a sprained foot on Sunday, Champ Bailey is anticipating some older competition in Indianapolis this weekend.

The 35-year-old cornerback will be tasked with covering the Colts’ Reggie Wayne, who turns 35 in November. Bailey said he’s looking forward to guarding Wayne — especially now that Peyton Manning isn’t his quarterback — and that it’ll be nice to line up against someone of his generation.

Broncos linebacker Wesley Woodyard missed last Sunday’s game against Jacksonville after injuring his neck in Dallas. Both he and defensive end Robert Ayers, who also was injured in Dallas, have returned to practice this week for the Broncos, and though Woodyard has been limited all week, he told assembled media on Thursday that he will play in Indianapolis.

If Woodyard does indeed play, the Broncos will have more of their big-name defensive players active than they have all season; Von Miller returns from his suspension, and Champ Bailey played against Jacksonville.

After Orlando Franklin left Sunday’s game with injuries to his left knee and ankle, things aren’t looking great with the Broncos’ offensive line. With that in mind, how about some good news?

According to Pro Football Focus, Broncos offensive tackle Chris Clark had one of the best performances of any player at his position in the NFL in Week 6. Clark, who is filling in for the injured Ryan Clady, earned a grade of +3.8 in overall blocking from the site, which ties him with San Francisco’s Anthony Davis for fifth-best among offensive tackles. Only San Francisco’s Joe Staley, Tampa Bay’s Demar Dotson, New York’s Justin Pugh and New England’s Nate Solder graded higher than Clark this week.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo warms up before an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012, in Arlington, Texas

During his conference call with the Denver media Wednesday, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo made an insightful observation about the Broncos’ secondary.

“I think this is as fast a back seven as I’ve seen in some time,” he said. “They play very good in tight spaces. They do a great job with their hands. They grab, they hold, they almost put a lot of pressure on the refs — whether or not they’re going to call the game close or not.

“It they get called once or twice, that’s a good thing. But they’re all over guys as far as using the little tricks, I guess you could say, that good linebackers and good secondary use when they’re playing man coverage.

I’m a couple days late on this — apologies for not following Terrelle Pryor on Twitter — but I’m also operating under the assumption that there are plenty of Broncos fans who aren’t exactly glued to the Raiders QB’s Twitter feed, either. Apologies if you’ve seen this already, but if not, here goes…

On Tuesday, Pryor tweeted three messages to his followers, messages that raised red flags for anyone concerned with concussions and safety issues in the NFL.

In a story that posted Wednesday morning on ESPN.com, Giants quarterback Eli Manning details to Ed Werder the trying experience that was Peyton Manning’s recovery from neck fusion surgery, which caused him to be cut by the Colts and question his future:

“I knew it would get better with time,” Eli Manning told ESPN. “But after several surgeries and you’re dealing with nerves — you didn’t know how quickly (he would recover). That was the scary thing for him — he didn’t know how quickly it would get better.”

Eli Manning recalled throwing with his older brother following the 2011 season, when Peyton missed the entire season and was released by the Indianapolis Colts. The youngest Manning said his older brother struggled to generate any velocity on his passes, a source of concern for both quarterbacks.

“It just wasn’t the same … it was frustrating and scary for him,” Eli Manning said. “He would look at me and say, ‘What looks wrong? Why is it coming out without any pop?'”

After the big three of Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker and Eric Decker, the Broncos have had a fierce competition for the No. 4 and 5 receiver spots. Greg Orton made an early move but then suffered a severely sprained ankle.

Andre “Bubba” Caldwell had been the No. 4 receiver in recent weeks and fifth-round drafted rookie Tavarres King seemed to have the edge for No. 5.

But Gerell Robinson has been mixing in with the top offense in recent days. Robinson was a late cut by the Broncos as an undrafted rookie last season, then was signed to the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad.

Another starter has suffered a significant injury. Broncos starting tight end Joel Dreessen had a setback in his recovery from kneecap surgery and will be out at least two weeks.

The Broncos’ top two tight ends from last year, Dreessen and Jacob Tamme, didn’t dress for the scrimmage Saturday. Tamme was sidelined last week with a pulled quad. They combined for 93 receptions in 2012.

With Dreessen and Tamme out, Julius Thomas started with the No. 1 offense Saturday. Virgil Green lined up with the No. 2 offense and made a terrific catch on an 18-yard throw from Brock osweiler. Jake O’Connell, a veteran signed a week ago, had a catch from No. 3 quarterback Zac Dysert.

Dreessen is the third starter to suffer a serious injury since training camp opened two weeks ago. Center Dan Koppen is done for the season with a torn ACL and right cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie will miss at least another week with a high ankle sprain.

With the season-ending injury to Broncos center Dan Koppen in Sunday’s practice, the team is now looking at a shallow pool of available replacements.

And in looking at the players available and how they’ve played in recent seasons, the best fits would likely be Steve Vallos and Eugene Amano. Amano has far more experience as a starter in the league — 68 starts and 124 games played in his career — but many personnel executives in the league say Amano is still looking for a multi-year contract befitting a starter rather than an unsigned free agent.

When the Broncos’ offseason training activities (OTAs) opened last month, Peyton Manning was asked how he felt physically this year compared to this time last year, when he was coming off a missed season and four neck surgeries. Manning basically blew off the question, saying nothing more than “I feel fine.”

Asked again Tuesday, Manning was ready to expand.

“I feel better,” he said.

“I’ve certainly made strides when you talk about in comparison to this time in 2012. Read more…

As Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson proved last season, ACL injuries aren’t what they used to be.

And so not quite 6 ½ months after Quenterus Smith had his torn left ACL repaired by Dr. James Andrews, the Broncos’ rookie defensive end was participating in individual and position drills the past two days.

“They told me to do what I can,’’ said Smith, a fifth-round draft pick out of Western Kentucky. “When I’m done doing the drills I feel good. I don’t feel all the way normal but I still have another month-and-a-half to get ready. They’re doing a great job with it with the little time we’ve had. But everything feels good. I don’t feel like I’m babysitting it too much.’’

Smith suffered the injury while passing rushing in a game on Nov. 17. Dr. Andrews repaired the tear on Nov. 24. The 6-foot-5 Smith plans on participating in the team portion of practices by the start of training camp in late-July.

INDIANAPOLIS — Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno has had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee since the end of the season. Broncos coach John Fox confirmed the surgery when asked Thursday morning at the NFL’s scouting combine.

Moreno underwent a treatment to insert stem cells harvested from bone marrow in his pelvis into his right knee. It is the same knee Moreno tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) to end his 2011 season.

Moreno is currently rehabbing at the Broncos’ Dove Valley complex. The running back, who just finished his fourth year with the team, left the Broncos’ playoff loss to the Ravens with a knee injury.

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning said it was good to see guard Chris Kuper back on the practice field during Tuesday’s full-pad workout.

Kuper, a starter for the past six seasons, has missed nine games because of injuries, including knee and migraine-headache issues. This week he was named by the team for the Ed Block Courage Award, bestowed by each NFL team to a player that has overcome adversity.

Kuper played in the season finale against Kansas City but only on special teams.

Broncos right guard Chris Kuper is on the 46-man game day roster today but he won’t start against the Kansas City Chiefs. Manny Ramirez will get his 11th start at right guard.

Kuper has been out the past three games with a sprained left ankle and migraines. He will be able to knock off some rust on a couple special teams today but the plan is to not play him at guard until the playoffs.

Meanwhile, I just saw Broncos returner Trindon Holliday walk past the hallway outside the press box so he is officially out. Jim Leonhard will return punts and Omar Boldin will be the kickoff returner.

The Broncos have lost a few key players to injuries, including running back Willis McGahee, safety Quinton Carter, center J.D. Walton and linebacker Joe Mays. But Denver may be as healthy as any team at this stage of the season.

“This game’s about staying healthy, and injuries are part of this game every week,” Fox said Friday. “You deal with them. We’ve had the ‘next-man-up’ philosophy. We’ve got a lot of guys that have stepped in and done a terrific job, so good for them.

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.